Fossil bone?

[Irongiant97]

Found this in the Coleraine formation of northern Minnesota, it appears to be bone, possibly a part of an arm or leg, any guesses to what it may be? (I’ve already contacted a paleontologist but I thought I’d ask here, too. Also any tips of removing iron off of fossils? Many of the fossils here are within iron stones and i don’t know how to safely remove most of it.)

 

 

[Fossildude19]

Looks like a concretion or nodule, to me.    

Not seeing bone texture.

[Irongiant97]

3 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

Looks like a concretion or nodule, to me.    

Not seeing bone texture.

Look at the sides, there’s blueish/white of the bones surface. The paleontologist i contacted has responded and told me it’s certainly bone. I’ll keep you guys updated.

[Fossildude19]

[JohnJ]

I'm not convinced it's bone either.  It has many characteristics of an ironstone or mudstone concretion.  The exfoliating layers, changes in color and texture, and unusual shapes are often features of these geologic oddities.

 

What organization was the paleontologist from?

[Brandy Cole]

Plus one for concretion from me right now.

 

@Irongiant97 The blueish white would actually make me lean against fossil bone, since mineralized bones are not generally going to resemble the white color that modern bones have.  

 

What would make fossil bone more likely is visible 'osteoporosity', the porous spaces where blood vessels pass through in bones.  I don't really see it where I'd expect to see it in your sample.  The big orange flakes and breaks I see are more consistent with concretions, as John said.

[Irongiant97]

1 hour ago, JohnJ said:

I'm not convinced it's bone either.  It has many characteristics of an ironstone or mudstone concretion.  The exfoliating layers, changes in color and texture, and unusual shapes are often features of these geologic oddities.

 

What organization was the paleontologist from?

This area is known for ironstone and ironstone fossils. You guys could be right, since the paleontologist only has pictures to go on, but again I’ll let you guys know when we learn more.

[Irongiant97]

1 hour ago, Brandy Cole said:

Plus one for concretion from me right now.

 

@Irongiant97 The blueish white would actually make me lean against fossil bone, since mineralized bones are not generally going to resemble the white color that modern bones have.  

 

What would make fossil bone more likely is visible 'osteoporosity', the porous spaces where blood vessels pass through in bones.  I don't really see it where I'd expect to see it in your sample.  The big orange flakes and breaks I see are more consistent with concretions, as John said.

I’ll take this into consideration, though it isn’t fully ckeaned so vessel passes could be present, but I’m not qualified to do anymore cleaning then i have. Ill keep you guys updated. (The blueish white had me thinking it was a tooth at girst, since most fossil teeth here are blueish white, if it is a tooth, it’s the biggest tooth ever found here)

[Irongiant97]

5 hours ago, JohnJ said:

 

What organization was the paleontologist from?

Not sure, but he runs the Hill Annex paleontology project, which I volunteer for. They’re based in chisholm Minnesota, at the Discovery Center.

[Irongiant97]

So I already made a post about this but I’ve taken a series of much better pictures and a video to show it off better. I’m certain this a humerus, elbow joint, of something, definitely from the Cretaceous. It was in a bit of ironstone matrix but I managed to remove most of it, however, it is very fragile and fragmented and I hope to have it looked over by a lab. 

 

[jpc]

tough call... what makes you think it is a humerus?  I see possible bone, but possibly unidentifiable. 

[Troodon]

Just an fyi, I did a quick search on the Coleraine Formation and it described it as a marine deposit.  Pretty tough call on these fragments

[Irongiant97]

13 minutes ago, Troodon said:

Just an fyi, I did a quick search on the Coleraine Formation and it described it as a marine deposit.  Pretty tough call on these fragments

It’s marine/shoreline, depending on how far east you go. 

[Fossildude19]

TOPICS MERGED.

Best to keep them together. 

[Troodon]

I agree now that I've see the newer photos.  Looks more like a concretion than bone.